Carpathian Mountains Self Guided Trek,Transylvania (Romania)

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Explore 4 mountains in 7 days in the magnificent Carpathian Mountains range!

Tour highlights:♦ Piatra Craiului mountains and National park - with its narrow and saw-like ridge the mountains are considered to be one of the most beautiful in Carpathian Mountains range.
♦ Bucegi Natural Park is Romania's best-kept secret, rivalling Slovakia's Tatra Mountains and the Alps when it comes to trekking. Their many glaciers, canyons, caves and lakes offer a wealth of natural beauty, history and adventure.
♦ Brasov is everything that Bucharest is not: a placid, gentle, civilised city of 300,000 people nestled in the Carpathian mountains. At present the 2-nd industrial centre after Bucharest and one of the main university, historic and tourist cities in Romania. Places of interest include remnants of a citadel built in 1553, The Black Church (14-th - l5-th centuries), the largest Gothic church in Romania and within the territory between Vienna and Istanbul.
♦ Bran castle is no doubt one of the milestones when travelling in Transylvania. Towers, narrow corridors, hidden premises - the castle offers many interesting facts and stories, mysterious enough to incite the legend lovers.

Day 2. Piatra mare mountains - 7 Ladders canyonAfter a short transfer you start the first trekking day in the nearby Piatra Mare (Big stone) mountains. You hike to Piatre Mare chalet (1628m) and after a short rest climb to the highest peak of the mountain – mount Piatre mare (1843m). You go down through the stunning “7 ladders canyon” with numerous waterfalls and high rock walls. Transfer back to Brasov. Hiking time: 7-8 hours, uphill/downhill: 800 m/800 m., appr. 16 km.

Day 3. Piatra Craiului Nmountains - Magura village
Today you start exploring the Piatra Craiului National Park. Transfer from Brasov to Bran town (30 km). Optional sightseeing in the morning - Bran Castle (famous as the count Dracula’s castle it was built by the Knights of the Teutonic Order between 1211 – 1225). The trek today is not that long, you walk from Bran to Magura village on nice trails and dirt roads among beautiful forests, meadows and idyllic countryside. Accommodation in a guesthouse in Magura Village. Hiking time: about 4 hours, uphill/downhill: 400 m/400 m, appr. 9 km.

Day 4. Magura Village – Curmatura chalet - Zarnesti town – Magura Village
Today you trek in the heart of Piatra Craiului National Park - from Magura Village to – Curmatura chalet (1470 m). The route climbs up to “La table” cross point where 8 different paths meet and continues on big meadows and nice coniferous forests to Curmatura hut (1470m), where you could stop for lunch break. From the chalet you continue the trek to Zarnesti town, the main gate to the National Park. From there you descend and walk to Magura village. Overnight.Hiking time: 7-8 hours, uphill/downhill: 500 m/ 700 m., appr. 20 km.

Day 5: Magura Village - Bucegi Natural Park - BrasovAfter breakfast you have a short transfer to the starting point of the trekking in Bucegi Natural Park (20 min. drive). You start the walk in a wide forest road, and cross a small river. After a steep part in the forest (about 20 min.), you continue in the forest but on your way you pass nice meadows where a lunch break could be made. There are sheep farms on your way and in one of them you can stop to try the cheese for a small amount of money. An optional detour (1 hour) could lead you to the Evil Waterfall. You pass former hunting house and at the end you take a wide forest road again to get to the meeting point. Transfer to Brasov for accommodation – (1 h. drive). Hiking time: 5-7 hours, uphill/downhill: 800 m/ 800 m, appr. 14 km.

Day 6. Rest day – Brasov - Tampa mountain - BrasovToday you will have more time for a deserved rest and a short hike is planned. Hike on the Tampa mountain (960 m). The view from the summit is spectacular, offering a nice panorama of the city. The route is easy, you can take the cable car to the top and go down by foot or the other way round. Optional Brasov walking tour by night with guide.Hiking time: 2-3 hours, uphil/downhill: 400/400m

Day 7. Poaian Brasov resort - Postavaru mountainsTransfer to Poiana Brasov resort (1200m) – the main ski resort in Romania (12 km). Trekking to the top of Postavaru Mountains – 1799 m and down to the resort. The route follows easy forests paths with nice meadows and great sceenary. There is also an option to use the cable car either on your way up or during the return. Transfer back to Brasov. Hiking time: 4-5 hours, uphill/downhill: 700 m/700 m, appr. 10 km).

Day 8. DepartureTransfer to Bucharest for departure.

Included in the price: ►accommodation in pensions/guesthouses with private facilities ►mealplan: all days on BB (breakfast included); ►maps and route notes (provided at the first accomodation) ►all transfers per itinerary including transfers to the airport from/to Bucharest or Sibiu; ►luggage transportation; ►guided tour Brasov by night; ►24/7 emergency hotline;

Not included: ►flight tickets; ►lunches and dinners (can be provided at the places of accommodation); ►drinks; ► entrance fees; ►lift tickets; ►transfers different than mentioned in the programme; ►insurance; ►personal expenses; ►tips;

Good to know:♦ How the tour runs: You will be met at the airport by our local supporting agent and transferred to Brasov. After accommodation you will have an info meeting for discussing all details regarding the trek and receiving your maps and route notes.
♦ 7 Ladders Canyon" is closed on Mondays and if there are severe weather conditions
(thunderstorms, heavy rains).
♦ Routes and waymarks: You follow very well marked trails that are part of the Carpathian hiking network. Most common waymark symbols are colored stripes, triangles, circles, etc
♦ Terrain: You follow mainly forest and meadows paths and dirt roads with gradual gaining of elevation. The “7 ladders canyon” includes walking on steel ladders and bridges in a very narrow and spectacular gorge and might seem difficult or dangerous for some hikers and can be skipped.
♦ The tour can be organized for min. 2 people. Please see above for supplement to price. Tour can also be organized for larger groups of 4+ people. Please get in touch for a quote.

Collecting experience in handling active holidays since its establishment in 1989, Penguin Travel has become a leading provider in the fields of hiking, cycling, horseriding and birdwatching tours (for more information please visit our corporate website at http://www.penguin.dk). The company specializes in offering tailor-made solutions and aims to deliver value for money products by combining professional approach with in-depth local knowledge and flexibility.

Apart from offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia and Bulgaria, Penguin Travel has developed a wide network of experienced suppliers in order to ensure the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of our tour programmes. Our staff unifies young and very active people with university degrees in biology, geography, tourism etc. who have walked most of the routes and know them in details.

What you browse now is the company's specialized website for self-guided tours, which are some of our main activities. Unlike other agencies we do offer also tours that have been designed and prepared directly by ourselves (e.g. the trips in Bulgaria and Turkey) as we believe that this is the way to diversify the global market rather than only offering the most popular walking holidays (which we can't avoid on the other hand).

We hope you will enjoy traveling with us and we all look forward to reading from you soon.